AN UNUSUAL THREE-COLOR-LAYERED AGATE PEBBLE BOTTLE

Details
AN UNUSUAL THREE-COLOR-LAYERED AGATE PEBBLE BOTTLE
19TH CENTURY

Carved through the black, brown and white skin with a catfish and water bug amidst two lotus leaves, one with a crab, the reverse side with further incised lotus, stopper

Lot Essay

For a discussion of bottles of this type see Hugh Moss, Chinese Snuff Bottles of the Silica or Quartz Group, pp. 60-61, figs. 155-156 and 162. They appear to use materials similar to the 'peanut' group (see lot 141), but are a transition from the so-called 'group B' which depict lotus, waves and duck